Fantasy Sports: Trading deadline fracas looming

It is the time of year when trade deadline talk is unavoidable. That means it is also the time of year when fantasy hipsters who play in American League- or National League-only leagues sweat out waiting to see if some of their stars disappear without compensation.

This looks to be an especially trying year for those worried only about the NL, where the biggest names up for sale seem to reside. This includes just about everyone on the Phillies' roster.

The biggest prize of the Philadelphia roster is starter Cliff Lee, who is 10-2 with a 2.73 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. That is a great line for a team that is 42-45 and in third place in the NL East (which means they are only ahead of the Mets and Marlins, not the most difficult task). The record isn't altogether awful, but the Phillies find themselves 7-1/2 games back in the wild-card race entering the weekend, so it would take a big move to get back in the playoff picture.

Lee's numbers are also a boon for fantasy owners with the courage to pick him after he posted a 6-9 record in 2012, but with a 3.16 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 207 strikeouts in 211 innings that said it wasn't all his fault.

The Phillies' starter has a no-trade clause, but he turns 35 next month so his window for winning championships is dwindling and the chance to go to a contender has to be looking better all the time.

Second baseman Chase Utley is also 34 years old (though he gets to make old-man jokes to Lee since his birthday isn't until December), and after three injury-plagued seasons and an oblique strain that gave him another disabled list this season, one has to wonder how much time he has left on the field, never mind the time for his championship window.

This season, though, he is batting .281 with 11 homers, 30 RBIs and six steals, which could be enough for him to get looks from contending teams. He has also raised his average 17 points since starting his DL comeback with an 0-for-5 outing, so he at least seems healthy enough.

Then there is the senior citizen of the group, Michael Young, who is 36 but doing what he always does by putting the bat on the ball and giving himself a .281 average with a .335 on-base percentage. Those aren't overwhelming numbers, but they are ones that won't hurt a team, which is where he gets his fantasy value as well. And suppose a team has its starting first baseman out for the year, a third baseman who is coming off injury and seems on shaky ground with the team's brass and a bad-back backup who won't come back until at least September, then Young, who plays both corner infield positions, may look good in pinstripes.

And would anyone like 34-year-old catcher Carlos Ruiz? (Note: That is like 52-1/2 in regular-people years). Sure, he hasn't homered this year in 31 games and is batting .278, but he had 16 bombs last year and batted .325. All catchers are coming into their own only in their mid-30s, right?

The other National League squad that looks destined to ship someone away before the deadline is the Los Angeles Dodgers from their glut of outfielders.

The Dodgers began the season looking like the outfield could be a strong suit for the team with Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford manning the spots.

Crawford was supposed to be the iffiest of the trio. He played only 161 games over the last two seasons combined in his disastrous time in Boston. He then hit .301, though, with five homers, 13 RBIs and nine steals before another disabled list stint that ended Friday.

That return triggered the overfill, for Yasiel Puig will not be seeing any more time in the minors after batting .430 with eight homers, 18 RBIs and four steals in his time as a fill-in starter.

Kemp is having a disappointing season (see chart), but is too young (28), has been too good (.324-39-126-40 in 2011) and has too much invested in him (eight-year, $160 million contract) for him to be let go.

On stats alone, Ethier should probably be the odd man out. Crawford, however, is also saddled with the seven-year, $142 million, second-coming contract he squeezed out of the Red Sox, so if the Dodgers could find someone willing to take on some of that burden he could be a more likely candidate for jettisoning.

Either way, L.A. has too much good there for too few spots for a team that is three games under .500.

It's just one of those times, however, when it could spell disaster for a fantasy owner. Curse you real-world problems.

The emergence of rookie Yasiel Puig has given the Dodgers four solid outfielders, which for those who are counting is one more than can play at any one time.

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